Neoliberalism killed the South American Nuclear Program btw.

Only three Latin American countries ever had nuclear weapons, Cuba, Argentina and Brazil. Brazil and Argentina were engaged in a strategic rivalry for regional dominance during the Cold War, particularly while both were under military dictatorships (roughly the 1960s through the 1980s). While Mexico had early nuclear ambitions, it quickly pivoted to lead the non-proliferation movement. Cuba hosted Soviet weapons but did not have an indigenous development program.

Argentina had the most advanced nuclear program in Latin America and was the first to master the fuel cycle (uranium enrichment), which provides the material necessary for a bomb. President Juan Perón established the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA). Argentina built research reactors and refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), arguing it was discriminatory against developing nations.

Under the military junta, Argentina initiated a secret uranium enrichment project at Pilcaniyeu. Argentina began developing the Condor II medium-range ballistic missile (financed partly by Iraq), which the US feared would be a delivery system for a nuclear warhead. US Pressure and Intervention. Following the Falklands War and the return of democracy, President Raúl Alfonsín placed the program under civilian control.

President Jimmy Carter halted the supply of heavy water and enriched uranium to Argentina due to human rights violations during the “Dirty War” and their refusal to sign the NPT. The US blocked the sale of sensitive technologies (such as high-speed switches and computers) necessary for weaponization.

When Neoliberal Carlos Menem became President, the US exerted massive diplomatic pressure to kill the Condor II missile program. The US promised closer economic ties and removal from arms embargo lists in exchange for dismantling the missile.

In 1975, Brazil signed a massive nuclear energy deal with West Germany to build eight reactors and acquire enrichment technology. The Brazilian military regime, frustrated by international safeguards on their German-supplied technology, launched a secret “Parallel Program” run by the Navy, Army, and Air Force to develop weapons capability independently of civilian oversight.

The military secretly dug a 1,000-foot shaft at the Serra do Cachimbo military base, intended for an underground nuclear test. The US exerted intense diplomatic pressure on West Germany to cancel the nuclear deal with Brazil. While the deal went through, US pressure forced Germany to implement stricter safeguards than originally planned. The US spearheaded the creation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) specifically in response to the Indo-Pakistani and Latin American nuclear developments, making it much harder for Brazil to import dual-use technology.

In 1990 neoliberal President Fernando Collor de Mello famously traveled to the Cachimbo test site and symbolically shoveled lime into the test shaft, closing it.

Brazil’s ongoing nuclear submarine project (Álvaro Alberto) has drawn scrutiny because naval reactors can potentially use weapons-grade uranium, though Brazil maintains it is for peaceful defense. The U.S. has expressed “concerns” that the nuclear submarine project could be a front for weapons development. Washington also pressures Brazil to sign the IAEA Additional Protocol, which allows more intrusive inspections. President Lula da Silva has criticized the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as “unfair” for allowing a monopoly by existing nuclear powers. He continues to defend Brazil’s right to develop advanced nuclear technology for its navy and energy matrix as a matter of sovereignty.

As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was hostile toward Brazil’s nuclear ambitions, particularly when Brazil and Turkey attempted to broker a nuclear fuel deal with Iran in 2010. Currently, U.S. policy under subsequent administrations maintains the same core goal of preventing regional proliferation.